BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1850
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1850 (Waldron)
As Amended March 17, 2014
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, |Ayes: Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, |Allen, Bocanegra, |
| |Skinner, Stone, Waldron |Bradford, Ian Calderon, |
| | |Campos, Donnelly, Eggman, |
| | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
| | | |
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SUMMARY : Provides that a minor who was not a victim of, but who
was physically present during or located near, an act of
domestic violence, is a witness and is deemed to have suffered
harm for the purposes of issuing a protective order in a pending
criminal case.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the trial court in a criminal case to issue
protective orders when there is a good cause belief that harm
to, or intimidation or dissuasion of a victim or witness has
occurred or is reasonably likely to occur.
2)Provides that a person violating a protective order may be
punished for any substantive offense described in provisions
of law related to intimidation of witnesses or victims, or for
a contempt of the court making the order.
3)Requires a court, in all cases where the defendant is charged
with a crime of domestic violence, to consider issuing a
protective order on its own motion. All interested parties
shall receive a copy of those orders. In order to facilitate
this, the court's records of all criminal cases involving
domestic violence shall be marked to clearly alert the court
to this issue.
4)States in those cases in which a complaint, information, or
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indictment charging a crime of domestic violence has been
issued, except as specified, a restraining order or protective
order against the defendant issued by the criminal court in
that case has precedence in enforcement over a civil court
order against the defendant.
5)Allows a court, in any case in which a complaint, information,
or indictment charging a crime of domestic violence has been
filed, to consider, in determining whether good cause exists
to issue a protective order, the underlying nature of the
offense charged, and any information about the defendant's
prior convictions for domestic violence, other forms of
violence or weapons offenses, and any current protective or
restraining order issued by a criminal or civil court.
6)States that a "protective order" means an order that includes
any of the following restraining orders, whether issued ex
parte, after notice and hearing, or in a judgment:
a) An order enjoining specific acts of abuse, such as
contacting, molesting, and striking, as described.
b) An order excluding a person from a dwelling, as
described.
c) An order enjoining other specified behavior necessary to
effectuate the first two orders, as described.
7)Provides that a court may issue an ex parte order enjoining a
party from molesting, attacking, striking, stalking,
threatening, sexually assaulting, battering, harassing,
telephoning, including, but not limited to, making annoying
telephone calls as described, destroying personal property,
contacting, either directly or indirectly, by mail or
otherwise, coming within a specified distance of, or
disturbing the peace of the other party, and, in the
discretion of the court, on a showing of good cause, of other
named family or household members.
8)Authorizes a court to issue an ex parte order excluding a
party from the family dwelling, the dwelling of the other
party, the common dwelling of both parties, or the dwelling of
the person who has care, custody, and control of a child to be
protected from domestic violence for the period of time and on
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the conditions the court determines, regardless of which party
holds legal or equitable title or is the lessee of the
dwelling. The court may issue such an order only on a showing
of all of the following:
a) Facts sufficient for the court to ascertain that the
party who will stay in the dwelling has a right under color
of law to possession of the premises.
b) That the party to be excluded has assaulted or threatens
to assault the other party or any other person under the
care, custody, and control of the other party, or any minor
child of the parties or of the other party.
c) That physical or emotional harm would otherwise result
to the other party, to any person under the care, custody,
and control of the other party, or to any minor child of
the parties or of the other party.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable trial court costs to the extent this
bill results in an increase in protective orders.
It appears that in most cases the court could currently issue a
protective order in these cases, based upon a good cause belief
that a victim or witness may suffer harm. While this bill deems
the harm to exist, the court retains the prerogative to issue a
protective order.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1850 makes clear in the
law that a child's presence during an act of domestic violence
makes the child a witness to the act who has suffered harm,
thereby permitting courts to issue protective orders for such
children. This legislation is needed to protect infants and
young children who cannot vocalize or otherwise testify about
the harm they suffered by being powerless witnesses to acts of
domestic violence. Infants and young children cannot review and
sign declarations attesting to the harm they suffered, testify
in court, or be interviewed by investigators. Therefore, there
is nothing in current law that would enable their protection.
AB 1850 would fill that void."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
AB 1850
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Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0003159